Systems and methods for configuring the display magnification of an electronic device based on distance and user presbyopia

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods dynamically configure a display ( 104 ) of an electronic device ( 102 ) to a desired display resolution and/or a magnification factor without noticeable impact on the user viewing experience. According to certain aspects, the distance between a user ( 100 ) and the display is measured ( 1002 ), and the desired display resolution is determined ( 1006 ) based on the distance. If a user is exhibiting ( 1008, 1010 ) symptoms of presbyopia, a magnification factor may be determined ( 1012 ). A request indicating the desired display resolution and/or magnification factor is transmitted ( 1016 ) to a server that supplies images, such as pictures or videos. The image is received ( 1018 ) from the server and displayed ( 1020 ) on the display. A focus area distance and/or a pupil orientation of the user may also influence the desired display resolution. Bandwidth, processing, and power savings may result through the use of these systems and methods.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of U.S. Non-Provisionalapplication Ser. No. 13/666,499, entitled “Systems and Methods forConfiguring the Display Resolution of an Electronic Device Based onDistance and User Presbyopia,” filed 1 Nov. 2012. The entire contentsand substance of which are incorporated by reference as if fully setforth below.

FIELD

This application generally relates to configuring the display resolutionof an electronic device based on distance and user presbyopia. Inparticular, the application relates to utilizing a distance between auser and a display of the electronic device and whether the user has apresbyopia condition to dynamically determine an optimal displayresolution of the display without noticeable impact on the user viewingexperience.

BACKGROUND

Higher display resolutions may require a large amount of data torepresent the number of pixels of an image, and accordingly, that largeamount of data may need to be transferred to the electronic device fromthe server. Transferring the large amount of data may utilize asignificant portion of the available bandwidth from the server to theelectronic device. Moreover, other network traffic may impede thetransfer of data to the electronic device. As a result, the images maynot be timely received and may not be displayed smoothly, there may notbe enough bandwidth for other applications executing on the electronicdevice, the network transferring the data gets congested, and the usermay consume excessive amounts of data, resulting in overage charges.

Furthermore, a processor of the electronic device rendering the imagesmay need to process the large amount of data for images at the higherdisplay resolution. Processing the large amount of data may utilizesignificant processing time and/or overtax the processor, resulting inhigher power consumption, higher temperatures, and possibly degradedperformance. Consequently, the images may not be rendered or displayedsmoothly, and other applications on the electronic device may be slowed.The power usage of the electronic device may also increase significantlydue to the higher bandwidth and processing needs for the images at thehigher display resolution.

Accordingly, there is an opportunity for systems and methods thataddress these bandwidth, processing, and power concerns withoutnoticeably impacting user viewing experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separateviews, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated inand form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrateembodiments of concepts that include the claimed embodiments, andexplain various principles and advantages of those embodiments.

FIG. 1 depicts a user viewing a display of an electronic device at adistance in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts a user viewing a display of an electronic device atanother distance in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 depicts a user situated at the center of the display of theelectronic device viewing the center of the display in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts a user situated at the center of the display of theelectronic device viewing a focus area of the display in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 5 depicts a user situated at the center of the display of theelectronic device viewing another focus area of the display inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 depicts a user situated at an edge of the display of theelectronic device viewing a focus area of the display in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 7 depicts a user situated at another edge of the display of theelectronic device viewing another focus area of the display inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 8 depicts users viewing the display of the electronic device atdifferent viewing angles in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the electronic device in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram depicting the dynamic configuration of thedisplay resolution and/or magnification factor of the display of theelectronic device in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram depicting the determination of whether a useris exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 12 is an exemplary graph showing points of transition for displayresolutions of a display of the electronic device with respect todistance in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 13 is an exemplary graph showing points of transition for displayresolutions of another display of the electronic device with respect todistance in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 14 is an exemplary graph showing points of transition for displayresolutions of another display of the electronic device with respect todistance in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods dynamically configure an electronic device displaythat supports a plurality of display resolutions to a particular displayresolution. According to one embodiment, the electronic device measuresa distance between its display and a user of the electronic device anddetermines a desired display resolution, based on the distance. Theelectronic device may also determine whether the user is exhibitingsymptoms of presbyopia and, if the user is exhibiting symptoms ofpresbyopia, the device can find a desired magnification factor. Arequest indicating the desired display resolution and/or the desiredmagnification factor may be transmitted to a server external to theelectronic device, where the server is capable of supplying an image,such as pictures and videos. According to another embodiment, anelectronic device includes a distance measurement component formeasuring a distance between its display and a user of the electronicdevice and a presbyopia detection component for determining whether theuser is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia. The electronic device alsoincludes a transceiver, a processor, and optionally other components.The processor may receive the distance from the distance measurementcomponent, determine a desired display resolution based on the distance,receive presbyopia data from the presbyopia detection component,determine a desired magnification factor based on the presbyopia data,and transmit a request indicating the desired display resolution and/orthe desired magnification factor using the transceiver to a serverexternal to the electronic device. The electronic device may receive animage, such as pictures and videos, from the server.

The systems and methods as discussed herein can offer improvements toexisting technologies. In particular, the desired display resolutionand/or the desired magnification factor may be changed if a change inthe distance between the user and the display is detected and the changeexceeds a predetermined distance threshold. A pupil orientation of theuser with respect to the display may be determined that corresponds to afocus area on the display of a pupil of the user. A focus area distancebetween the display and the pupil of the user may be calculated based onthe distance and the pupil orientation, and a desired display resolutionmay be determined based on the focus area distance. Changes to the pupilorientation can be detected, which can result in determining the desireddisplay resolution if the change in the calculated focus area distanceexceeds a predetermined focus area distance threshold. Determiningwhether the user is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia may includerecognizing the squinting of the eyes of the user, recognizing that theuser should be wearing multifocal glasses that are normally worn, oridentifying a back and forth movement of the electronic device. Theamount of data transferred to the electronic device from a remote servermay be reduced, with commensurate savings in bandwidth, processing, andpower, for example, when a non-maximum display resolution is requesteddue to the distance being too great for the user's eyes to resolve themaximum display resolution. It should be appreciated that other benefitsand efficiencies are envisioned.

FIGS. 1 and 2 depict examples of an electronic device 102 with a display104 in which embodiments may be implemented. The electronic device 102may be stationary or portable and may be, for example, a smartphone, acellular phone, a personal digital assistant, a tablet computer, alaptop computer, a networked television set, or the like. A user 100 mayview the display 104 at different distances, such as a distance d₁ inFIG. 1 and a shorter distance d₂ in FIG. 2. The distance between theuser 100 and the display 104 may vary depending on the particular usageof the electronic device 102 and the personal preferences of the user100. The user 100 may hold the electronic device 102 with one or morehands, as in FIG. 1. The distance between the display 104 and the user100 in FIG. 1 is a distance d₁. In contrast, the electronic device 102may also be held with one of more hands by the user 100, as in FIG. 2,but at a distance d₂ that is less than the distance d_(i) of FIG. 1.

The user 100 may vary the distance between himself and the display 104because the user 100 has a presbyopia condition. Presbyopia is acondition where the lens of the eye loses the ability to focus onobjects nearer to the eye. The lens of the eye is elastic and changesits length or shape when focusing on nearer objects, as compared tofocusing on farther objects. As a person ages, the lens becomes lesselastic, harder, and less able to accommodate a wide range of distance.Accordingly, the ability to focus on nearer objects decreases. Theability to see in dim light may also be affected. Without correctivelenses, a person with presbyopia may reflexively squint, or movethemselves or the display 104 back and forth to adjust their focus. Aperson with presbyopia may also hold objects, such as reading material,farther away in order to properly focus on the objects. People may wearmultifocal eyeglasses (e.g., bifocal eyeglasses, trifocal eyeglasses,progressive lens eyeglasses, etc.), reading glasses, multifocal contactlenses, and/or monovision contact lenses to correct a presbyopiacondition.

The user 100 in FIG. 1 is an exemplary person with presbyopia who needsto hold the electronic device 102 at arm's length to focus on thedisplay 104. Other persons with presbyopia may move the electronicdevice 102 in a back and forth movement in an attempt to focus on thedisplay 104. For example, the user 100 may move the electronic device102 between the distance d₁ and the distance d₂ in FIGS. 1 and 2,respectively, to focus on the display 104, depending on the size of theobjects the user 100 is trying to view and focus on. It should be notedthat in FIGS. 1-8, the x-axis is depicted as horizontally across thedisplay 104, the y-axis is depicted as vertically up and down thedisplay 104, and the z-axis is depicted as perpendicular to the display104 of the electronic device 102. The back and forth movement of theelectronic device 102 by persons with presbyopia is primarily in thez-axis.

In the scenarios depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, the user 100 may be, forexample, reading the text of e-mails and web pages; viewing images, suchas pictures and videos; playing video games; and/or otherwiseinteracting with the electronic device 102. Generally, the eyes of theuser 100 may perceive a resolution of approximately 5 arc-minutes,assuming the user 100 has a normal visual acuity of 20/20. A user 100may have the normal visual acuity of 20/20 with or without correctivelenses. The perceived resolution of 5 arc-minutes may allow the eyes ofthe user 100 to differentiate a size Δx of a feature on an object, suchas an image element on the display 104, at a distance d from the object,according to the equation Δx=d*π/180*5/60. Accordingly, at a distance of1 m, the eyes of the user 100 can differentiate a feature with the sizeΔx of 1.4 mm. If the user 100 is further away, then the feature wouldnot be distinguishable to the eyes of the user 100. In the case of thedisplay 104, the size Δx of the feature may correspond to a pixel of thedisplay 104.

For a display 104 that is of a certain size and can support particulardisplay resolutions, a maximum distance between a user 100 and thedisplay 104 can be determined that will maximize the visual sharpnessand clarity of the images being shown on the display 104. If the user100 is farther than the maximum distance, then the eyes of the user 100cannot perceive features, e.g., pixels, with a smaller size Δx.Therefore, such features with the smaller size Δx may not need to beshown to the user 100 on the display 104 at certain farther distancessince the user 100 cannot perceive these features. As such, the displayresolution of the display 104 may be adjusted, i.e., reduced, so thatthe features with the smaller size Δx are not displayed. For a user 100with presbyopia, the user 100 may also have a minimum distance such thatif the user is closer than the minimum distance, then the eye of theuser 100 cannot focus on close-up objects. The electronic device 102 mayalso dynamically magnify the size of the features by a positive ornegative magnification factor so that the features are discernible tothe user 100. The electronic device 102 may implement dynamicconfiguration of the display resolution and/or magnification factor bymeasuring the distance between the user 100 and the display 104,determining a desired display resolution of the display 104 based on thedistance, determining whether the user is exhibiting symptoms ofpresbyopia, determining a desired magnification factor if the user isexhibiting symptoms of presbyopia, and transmitting a request includingthe desired display resolution and/or the desired magnification factorto a server supplying images.

Several benefits may result because the display resolution may bereduced from a higher display resolution or because the display ismagnified while maintaining the user viewing experience. In particular,the electronic device 102 may require a smaller amount of data torepresent images, if the images are at a lower display resolution and/orif only a portion of the image is needed due to the magnification of theimage. Accordingly, a smaller amount of data may be transferred to theelectronic device 102 from a server supplying the images, and networktraffic between the server and the electronic device 102 may be reduced.The processor of the electronic device 102 that renders the images basedon the data may process the smaller amount of data and, hence, free theprocessor to perform other tasks. The images may also be rendered anddisplayed more quickly and smoothly because there is less data toreceive and process. Less storage and cache space may be utilized on theelectronic device 102 because of the smaller amount of data.Furthermore, the power consumption may be reduced and battery life ofthe electronic device 102 may be lengthened because less data needs tobe received and processed. The reduced power consumption may lead tosavings in current drain and heat dissipation with an associatedreduction in the temperature of the electronic device 102. The serversupplying the images may also benefit because less data needs to be sentto the electronic device 102.

For example, the display 104 may be able to support display resolutionsof PAL or 576i (720×576), 720p (1280×720), and 1080p (1920×1080). ThePAL display resolution has 414,720 pixels, the 720p display resolutionhas 921,600 pixels, and the 1080p resolution has 2,073,600 pixels. Ifthe images received by the electronic device 102 can be rendered at oneof the lower display resolutions, it can be seen that the datarepresenting the number of pixels of an image can be significantlyreduced. In particular, if the images can be displayed at a displayresolution of 720p instead of 1080p, or at PAL instead of 720p, then thenumber of pixels is more than halved.

As another example, if the user 100 is exhibiting symptoms ofpresbyopia, the image on the display 104 could be magnified so that theuser 100 can discern features of the image. If the magnified image islarger than the size of the display 104, then several techniques couldbe used to display only the magnified portions of the image for the user100 to view. One technique may include cropping portions of the imagethat are on the borders of the image and only receiving and/ordisplaying the central portions of the image. Another technique mayinclude using a magnifying glass-type view of the image so that theportion of the image the user 100 is focused upon is magnified. In thistechnique, either the magnifying glass could move with the pupilorientation of the user 100, or the image could move underneath themagnifying glass. A further technique may include scrolling a magnifiedportion of an image sideways and down with the pupil orientation of theuser 100. This technique may work well with text and may move and scrollthe pertinent magnified portion of the image corresponding with thereading speed of the user 100. In some embodiments, the images and/ortext that are outside of the magnified portion could be blank. In eachof the above examples for display resolution and magnification, theamount of data to represent the pixels is reduced, resulting inbandwidth, processing, and power savings.

FIGS. 3-5 depict examples of a user 100 situated at the center of thedisplay 104 of the electronic device 102 in which embodiments may beimplemented. FIGS. 6-7 depict examples of a user 100 situated at eitheredge of the display 104 of the electronic device 102 in whichembodiments may be implemented. The user 100 and the display 104 areshown in a simplified top-down view in FIGS. 3-7. The electronic device102 may measure a distance between the user 100 and the display 104,then determine a desired display resolution of the display 104, based onthe distance and/or a focus area distance, as described below. Theelectronic device 102 may also determine whether the user 100 isexhibiting symptoms of presbyopia and determine a desired magnificationfactor based on if the user 100 is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia. Arequest including the desired display resolution and/or the desiredmagnification factor may be transmitted to a server external to theelectronic device 102. The electronic device 102 may subsequentlyreceive data corresponding to an image, such as pictures and videos, atthe desired display resolution and/or desired magnification factor fromthe server. The electronic device 102 may process the data and renderthe image on the display 104.

In FIG. 3, the user 100 may be viewing the center of the display 104, asdenoted by the line 302. The electronic device 102 may measure adistance d₃ between the user 100 and the display 104 and determine adesired display resolution of the display 104 based on the measureddistance d₃. The desired display resolution may be one of the displayresolutions that the display 104 is capable of supporting anddisplaying. The distance d₃ shown in FIG. 3 may be considered theminimum distance between an eye of the user 100 and the display 104 whena pupil orientation of the user 100 is not taken into account. Incontrast, if a pupil orientation of the user 100 is taken into account,a focus area distance between the display 104 and a pupil of the user100 may be calculated. In FIG. 3, when the eyes and pupils of the user100 view and focus on a region of the display 104 other than the centerof the display 104, the focus area distance is between the pupils of theuser 100 and the focused region of the display 104, and is greater thanthe minimum distance. However, when the user 100 views the center of thedisplay 104 in FIG. 3, then the minimum distance is the distance d₃. Insome embodiments, only the minimum distance between the user 100 and thedisplay 104 is considered when determining the desired displayresolution. In other embodiments, the pupil orientation of the user 100may be considered when calculating the focus area distance anddetermining a desired display resolution based on the focus areadistance (instead of the minimum distance).

FIGS. 4 and 5 depict the focus area distance when a user 100 is situatedat the center of the display 104 but is focused on another region of thedisplay 104 other than the center of the display 104. The minimumdistance between the user 100 and the display 104 in FIGS. 4 and 5 isstill the distance d₃. However, because the user 100 is focused onanother region of the display 104, the focus area distance between theuser 100 and the focused region of the display 104 is greater than thedistance d₃. In particular, the user 100 may be focused on the left edgeof the display 104 and the right edge of the display 104 as denoted bythe lines 402 and 502, respectively, in FIGS. 4 and 5. In FIG. 4, thefocus area distance d₄ is greater than the minimum distance d₃ and inFIG. 5, the focus area distance d₅ is greater than the minimum distanced₃.

Although the user 100 is shown focusing on the left edge and the rightedge of the display 104 by the lines 402 and 502 in FIGS. 4 and 5, ifthe user 100 views and focuses on any region of the display 104 (otherthan the center of the display 104), the focus area distance would begreater than the minimum distance d₃. As the eyes of the user 100 focuson other regions of the display 104 other than the center, the focusarea distance (e.g., d₄ or d₅) may be equal to the square root of thesum of the minimum distance (e.g., d₃) squared and the lateral distancex squared. The lateral distance x in FIGS. 4 and 5 is the distancebetween the center of the display 104 to the focused region of thedisplay 104. Accordingly, the size Δx of a particular theoretical pixelthat can be perceived by the user 100 at the focused region of thedisplay 104 will increase as the focus area distance (e.g., d₄ or d₅)increases, according to the equation Δx=(focus areadistance)*π/180*1/60. The display resolution of the display 104 cantherefore be reduced because the size Δx of a pixel may be largerwithout loss of detail or viewing experience to the user. In this case,the desired display resolution may be based on the focus area distanceinstead of the minimum distance. This may occur, for example, when auser is paying attention to a picture-in-picture image or animation,another inset graphic or video shown on the display, or a scrollingticker along an edge of the display.

FIGS. 6 and 7 depict the focus area distance when a user 100 is situatedat an edge of the display 104 but is focused on another region of thedisplay 104 different from the edge nearest where the user 100 issituated. As mentioned previously, this may occur, for example, when auser is paying attention to a picture-in-picture image or animation,another inset graphic or video shown on the display, or a scrollingticker along an edge of the display. In FIG. 6, the user 100 may besituated at the left edge of the display 104. In this case, the minimumdistance between the user 100 and the display 104 is the distance d₆ tothe left edge of the display 104, as denoted by the line 602. The user100 may be viewing and focused on another region of the display 104,such as the right edge of the display 104. The focus area distanced_(6FA) (denoted by the line 604) is greater than the minimum distanced₆. Similarly, in FIG. 7, the user 100 may be situated on the right edgeof the display 104. The minimum distance between the user 100 and thedisplay 104 is the distance d₇ to the right edge of the display 104, asdenoted by the line 702. The user 100 may be viewing and focused onanother region of the display 104, such as the left edge of the display104. The focus area distance d_(7FA) (denoted by the line 704) isgreater than the minimum distance d₇.

Although the user 100 is shown focusing on the opposite edge of thedisplay 104 from where the user 100 is situated in FIGS. 6 and 7,whenever the user 100 views and focuses on any region of the display 104(other than the edge closest to the user 100), the focus area distancewould be greater than the minimum distance (e.g., d₆ or d₇). Althoughnot geometrically exact, the focus area distance (e.g., d_(6FA) ord_(7FA)) may be approximated by the square root of the sum of theminimum distance (e.g., d₆ or d₇) squared and the lateral distance xsquared. The focus area distance may also be calculated withtrigonometry (e.g., the law of cosines) based on the minimum distance,the lateral distance x, and the angle between the display 104 and theline 602. The desired display resolution may be based on the focus areadistance instead of the minimum distance.

In each of the scenarios described above in FIGS. 3-7, the electronicdevice 102 may measure a distance between the user 100 and the display104, determine a desired display resolution based on the distance, andtransmit a request including the desired display resolution to a servercapable of supplying images. The electronic device 102 may alsodetermine whether the user 100 is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia anddetermine a desired magnification factor if the user 100 is exhibitingsymptoms of presbyopia. In this case, the transmitted request may alsoinclude the desired magnification factor. In some embodiments, theelectronic device 102 may also determine a pupil orientation of the user100 with respect to the display 104 and calculate a focus area distancebetween the display 104 based on the pupil orientation and the distancebetween the user 100 and the display 104. The electronic device 102 mayalso determine a desired display resolution based on the focus areadistance and transmit a request including the desired display resolutionto the server. The pupil orientation of the user 100 may includedetermining a focus area on the display 104 of a pupil of the user 100.

If there is a change in the distance and/or pupil orientation, theelectronic device 102 may determine a desired display resolution basedon the change. In some embodiments, the electronic device 102 maydetermine a desired display resolution if the change exceeds apredetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold for a particulardisplay 104 may be based on the dimensions of the display 104, thenumber of pixels and layout of the pixels of the display 104, and/or thevisual acuity of the user 100 at particular distances from the display104. In particular, the predetermined threshold can be based on whethera change in the distance or pupil orientation for a user 100 affects theviewable pixel size for the user 100 and therefore would cause a changeto a different resolution of the display 104. For example, the averagepixel size R_(D) of the display 104 (corresponding to the maximumresolution the display 104 is capable of resolving a feature to) can becalculated as the square root of the quotient of the physical area ofthe display 104 divided by the total pixel count of the display 104. Thevisual acuity α in arc-minutes of the user 100 at a distance D from thedisplay 104 can be calculated as L/D*180/π*60, where L is the size of afeature shown on the display 104. Accordingly, any feature within thevisual acuity α cannot be distinguished by the user 100 as separateentities, i.e., the feature size L appears as a single entity within thevisual acuity α.

Therefore, the smallest feature that can be resolved by the user 100 atany distance D_(i) can be calculated as L_(i)=D_(i)*(α*π/180*1/60), andthe corresponding desired display resolution can be calculated asR_(p)=L_(i)/R_(D). When the smallest resolvable feature size is lessthan the average pixel size of the display 104 (i.e., L_(i)<R_(D)), thenthe desired display resolution can be increased to a higher resolution,if the display 104 supports a higher resolution. It should be noted thatif the desired display resolution is changed, the same image is shown onthe display 104 with more or less detail (depending on whether thedesired display resolution has increased or decreased, respectively),not by reducing the number of pixels that are illuminated. As such, moreor less data may be utilized to display the image at the desired displayresolution.

In some embodiments, the electronic device 102 may measure the distancebetween the display 104 and the user 100 on a periodic basis and/or on acontinuous basis. If changes to the desired display resolution are madetoo quickly when there is a change in the distance or pupil orientation,then it is possible the user 100 may observe a pulsing screen on thedisplay 104. However, if changes to the desired display resolution aremade faster than what the human eye can detect (e.g., ⅜ of a second),then the user 100 may not notice such changes. If changes to the desireddisplay resolution are made too slowly, then it could be a nuisance tothe user 100 to adjust focus too often. Changes to the desired displayresolution may also be made when there is a transition on the display104, e.g., when a page of an e-book is turned, when a new webpage isloaded, when the background or scene changes in a video, etc.

FIG. 8 depicts multiple users 802, 804, and 806 viewing a display 104 ofan electronic device 102 from different viewing angles and distances.The viewing angle of a particular user may be determined by where theuser is situated with respect to the display 104. The distance for aparticular user may be respectively measured between the user 802, 804,and 806 and the display 104. As described above, the minimum distancebetween a particular user and the display 104 may be the distance whenpupil orientations of the users are not taken into account. In FIG. 8,the user 802 is at a minimum distance d₈₀₂ denoted by the line 812, theuser 804 is farther away at a greater minimum distance d₈₀₄ denoted bythe line 814, and the user 806 is closer at a minimum distance d₈₀₆denoted by the line 816.

If all three users 802, 804, and 806 are simultaneously situated andviewing the display 104, the electronic device 102 may determine adesired display resolution of the display 104 based on the distance ofthe user closest to the display 104. In the case of FIG. 8, the user 806is closest to the display 104, so the desired display resolutiondetermined by the electronic device 102 may be based on the minimumdistance d₈₀₆. The distance d₈₀₆ of the user 806 closest to the display104 may be used to determine the desired display resolution so that theviewing experience of the user 806 is maximized. If the distances d₈₀₂or d₈₀₄ of the users 802 and 804, respectively, were used to determinethe desired display resolution, the desired display resolution could belower and result in less sharpness and clarity on the display 104 asviewed by the user 806. However, by using the distance d₈₀₆, the desireddisplay resolution may be relatively higher and the viewing experienceof the users 802 and 804 may be more than optimal for those users. Insome embodiments, the electronic device 102 may periodically recalculatethe desired display resolution to account for changes in the distancebetween the display 104 and the users 802, 804, and/or 806. In otherembodiments, the electronic device 102 can recalculate the desireddisplay resolution if the electronic device 102 detects that the closestuser 806 has moved or is no longer situated in front of the display 104.In further embodiments, the users may have an option to activate ordeactivate whether changes in the display resolution and/ormagnification will occur, e.g., if one of the users has presbyopia butthe other users do not have presbyopia.

In some embodiments, the pupil orientation of the user closest to thedisplay 104 may also be taken into account when determining the desireddisplay resolution. Accordingly, in FIG. 8, the pupil orientation of theuser 806 may be determined when the user 806 views and focuses ondifferent regions of the display 104, other than the region of thedisplay 104 closest to the user 806. When the user 806 views the rightedge of the display 104, the distance d₈₀₆ is the minimum distance andcan be used to determine the desired display resolution. When the user806 views another region of the display 104, then the focus areadistance d_(806FA) may be calculated based on the pupil orientation ofthe user 806, as denoted by the line 818. The focus area distanced_(806FA) may be greater than the distance d₈₀₆. Similar to thescenarios described above with respect to FIGS. 3-7, the focus areadistance (e.g., d_(806FA)) may be approximated by the square root of thesum of the minimum distance (e.g., d₈₀₆) squared and the lateraldistance x squared, or by calculating the focus area distance withtrigonometry (e.g., the law of cosines).

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of an electronic device 102 in whichembodiments may be implemented. The electronic device 102 may bestationary or portable and may be, for example, a smartphone, a cellularphone, a personal digital assistant, a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer, a networked television set, or the like. The electronic device102 may include a display 104, a processor 902, a memory 904 (e.g.,flash memory, memory card, hard drive, solid state drive, etc.), atransceiver 906, an antenna 907, a microphone 908, a speaker 910, aproximity sensor 912, a camera 914, an accelerometer 916, a compass 918,a light sensor 920, and a flash 922. A battery or power supply 924 maybe included in the electronic device 102 for supplying, receiving,and/or distributing electrical power to components in the electronicdevice 102.

The transceiver 906 may be in communication with the antenna 907 so thatdata can be sent from and received to the electronic device 102.Alternately, data may be transmitted and/or received through a wirednetwork connection. The data may include a request including a desireddisplay resolution and/or a desired magnification factor that istransmitted to a server external to the electronic device 102. Theserver may supply the images, such as pictures and videos, to theelectronic device 102. The data may also include the images receivedfrom the server that are at a particular display resolution. Thetransceiver 906 may be adapted to receive and transmit data over awireless and/or wired connection. The transceiver may function inaccordance with a 3GPP standard such as HSPA or LTE, an IEEE standardsuch as 802.16 or 802.15 or 802.11, or other standards. Moreparticularly, the transceiver 906 may be a WWAN transceiver configuredto communicate with a wide area network including one or more cell sitesor base stations to communicatively connect the electronic device 102 toadditional devices or components. Further, the transceiver 906 may be aWLAN and/or WPAN transceiver configured to connect the electronic device102 to local area networks and/or personal area networks, such as aBluetooth network.

The software in the memory 904 may include one or more separate programsor applications. The programs may have ordered listings of executableinstructions for implementing logical functions. The software mayinclude a suitable operating system of the electronic device 102, suchas Android from Google, Inc., iOS from Apple, Inc., BlackBerry OS fromResearch in Motion Limited, Windows Phone from Microsoft Corporation, orSymbian from Nokia Corporation. The operating system essentiallycontrols the execution of other computer programs, and providesscheduling, input-output control, file and data management, memorymanagement, and communication control and related services.

The electronic device 102 may also include additional I/O components(not shown), such as keys, buttons, lights, LEDs, cursor controldevices, haptic devices, etc. The display 104 and the additional I/Ocomponents may be considered to form portions of a user interface (e.g.,portions of the electronic device 102 associated with presentinginformation to the user and/or receiving inputs from the user). In someembodiments, the display 104 is a touchscreen display composed ofsingular or combinations of display technologies such as electrophoreticdisplays, electronic paper, polyLED displays, OLED displays, AMOLEDdisplays, liquid crystal displays, electrowetting displays, rotatingball displays, segmented displays, direct drive displays, passive-matrixdisplays, active-matrix displays, lenticular barriers, and/or others.Further, the display 104 can include a thin, transparent touch sensorcomponent superimposed upon a display section that is viewable by auser. For example, such displays include capacitive touch screens,resistive touch screens, surface acoustic wave (SAW) touch screens,optical imaging touch screens, and the like. The display 104 may becapable of supporting one or more display resolutions, including 480p(852×480), PAL or 576i (720×576), 720p (1280×720), 1080p (1920×1080),UHDTV-4K (3840×2160), and UHDTV-8K (7680×4320), and aspect ratios, suchas 4:3 and 16:9.

The processor 902 may optimize the viewing of a display 104 on theelectronic device 102 by dynamically configuring the display resolutionof a display 104 based on the distance between a user and the display104. After a desired display resolution is determined, the transceiver906 may transmit a request to a server with the desired displayresolution. The distance between the user and the display 104 may bemeasured by the proximity sensor 912 and/or the camera 914 andcommunicated to the processor 902. The proximity sensor 912 may emitelectromagnetic energy, such as a field or beam, and examine changes inthe field or a return signal from the user being sensed. For example,the proximity sensor 912 may be an infrared sensor, an ultrasonicsensor, or other appropriate sensor. The camera 914 and/or the processor902 may have object recognition and/or facial recognition capabilitiesto allow measurement of the distance between the user and the display104. The light sensor 920 and the flash 922 may be utilized by theprocessor 902 to assist the camera 914 in measuring the distance bysensing a low-light environment and sufficiently illuminating the user,for example.

In some embodiments, the desired display resolution may be determinedbased on a pupil orientation of the user. The pupil orientation of auser may be determined by the camera 914 and/or the processor 902 usingobject recognition and/or facial recognition capabilities. The camera914 may detect the pupil of the user and determine the orientation ofthe pupil with respect to the display. The light sensor 920 and theflash 922 may be utilized by the processor 902 to assist the camera 914in determining the pupil orientation by sensing a low-light environmentand sufficiently illuminating the eyes of the user. A focus areadistance between the pupil of the user and the display 104 can becalculated by the processor 902 based on the distance and the pupilorientation. As described above, the focus area distance may include thedistance between a pupil of the user and the display 104 when a pupilorientation of the user is taken into account. The focus area distancemay be estimated by the square root of the sum of the minimum distancesquared and the lateral distance x squared, or with trigonometry (e.g.,the law of cosines). The minimum distance may be the distance betweenthe user and the display 104 as initially measured. After the focus areadistance is calculated, the desired display resolution may be determinedbased on the focus area distance, and as described above, a requestincluding the desired display resolution may be transmitted to a server.

Changes in the distance between the user and the display 104 after aninitial measurement may be detected by the antenna 907, the proximitysensor 912, the camera 914, the accelerometer 916, and/or the compass918. Changes may be categorized into three major scenarios: (1) only theuser changes position (i.e., the device remains stationary); (2) onlythe device changes position (i.e., the user remains stationary); and (3)both the user and the device change position. The components that candetect changes in the distance can vary depending on the scenario andmay be used in combination with one another, as appropriate. Forexample, the proximity sensor 912 may detect scenarios (1) and (3) butnot scenario (2), and the accelerometer 916 may detect scenario (2) butnot scenarios (1) and (3). As another example, the camera 914 may beable to detect all three scenarios.

After a change in the distance has been detected, the proximity sensor912 and/or the camera 914 may perform a new distance measurement. Forexample, the camera 914 may be the primary distance measurementcomponent that measures the distance between the user and the display104. In this case, the camera 914 may make an initial measurement of thedistance and then be deactivated by the processor 902 so that less poweris consumed by the camera 914. If a change in the distance is detectedby another component, then the camera 914 may be reactivated to makeanother distance measurement. A new distance measurement may beperformed in some embodiments if the change in the distance exceeds apredetermined threshold. In this way, insignificant changes in thedistance will not unnecessarily change the display resolution of thedisplay 104. In other embodiments, the distance may be measured on aperiodic basis.

The antenna 907 may detect a change in the distance by sensing a changein the electromagnetic field emitted by the antenna 907. The change inthe electromagnetic field may be caused by interactions between the userand the electronic device 102, such as a change in distance. Forexample, if the electronic device 102 and the user are relatively close,e.g., less than a few inches, then the antenna 907 may detect changes inthe distance reliably. The proximity sensor 912 and/or the camera 914may detect a change in the distance by comparing a previous distancemeasurement to a newer distance measurement. Changes in the distance mayalso be detected by the accelerometer 916 and/or the compass 918 bysensing shaking, changes in orientation, and other changes to physicalaspects of the electronic device 102. The accelerometer 916 and/or thecompass 918 may be based on a magnetoresistive sensor, a Hall effectsensor, or other appropriate sensor.

Changes in the pupil orientation after an initial determination may bedetected by the camera 914. After a change in the pupil orientation hasbeen detected, the camera 914 may perform a new pupil orientationmeasurement. A new pupil orientation determination may be performed insome embodiments if the change in the focus area distance that iscalculated based on the pupil measurement exceeds a predeterminedthreshold. Insignificant changes in the focus area distance will nottherefore unnecessarily change the display resolution of the display104. In other embodiments, the pupil orientation may be determined andthe focus area distance may be calculated on a periodic basis.

A visual acuity of the user, including whether user is exhibitingsymptoms of presbyopia, may be determined by the camera 914 and/or maybe entered by the user and stored in the memory 904. The visual acuityof the user may include information from an eyeglasses prescription or acontact lens prescription, for example, and may include distance visionmeasurements (e.g., for far vision), near vision measurements (e.g., forthe reading portion of a bifocal lens), spherical corrections,cylindrical corrections (e.g., for astigmatism), axis (e.g., forastigmatism), refractive power, whether the user has a presbyopiacondition, and/or other visual acuity measurements. The visual acuity ofthe user may also be specified as a fraction, e.g., 20/20. In someembodiments, the visual acuity of the user may be obtained by accessingan external database via the transceiver 906, such as to a medicalrecords database or website. The external database may store the visualacuity of the user as entered by the user, a doctor, or another person.As one example, the camera 914 may perform facial recognition todetermine the identity of the user and access the visual acuity of theuser from the external database. As another example, the user may loginto the external database to access the visual acuity of the user.

The visual acuity may be factored into the desired display resolutiondetermination in conjunction with the distance and/or focus areadistance. In some embodiments, the processor 902 may take the imagebeing shown on the display 104 into account in determining whether theuser 100 is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia. For example, if smallfeatures, such as text, are being shown on the display 104 and the user100 is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia, then the processor 902 maydetermine that the user 100 is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia.Symptoms of presbyopia may include squinting of the eyes of the user100, the user 100 not wearing multifocal glasses when multifocal glassesare normally worn by the user 100, and/or back and forth z-axismovements of the electronic device 102.

The camera 914 and the processor 902 may be used to determine that theuser 100 is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia by recognizing a squintingof the eyes of the user 100. The camera 914 and/or the processor 902 mayutilize facial recognition capabilities, for example, to recognizing thesquinting of the eyes. The frequency and/or magnitude of the squintingmay also be taken into account in making the determination. In oneembodiment, the frequency and/or magnitude of the squinting may need toexceed a predetermined threshold in order to determine that the user 100is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia. The light sensor 920 and the flash922 may be utilized by the processor 902 to assist the camera 914 inrecognizing squinting of the eyes of the user 100 by sensing a low-lightenvironment and sufficiently illuminating the eyes of the user 100.

The camera 914 and the processor 902 may also be used to determine thatthe user 100 is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia by recognizing thatmultifocal glasses are not being worn by the user 100 when multifocalglasses are normally worn by the user 100. The user 100 may have inputinto the electronic device 102 that the user 100 normally wearsmultifocal glasses and/or multifocal contact lenses. In otherembodiments, the processor 902 may access an external database via thetransceiver 906, such as to a medical records database or website, todetermine whether the user 100 normally wears multifocal glasses and/ormultifocal contact lenses, as described above. Whether the user 100normally wears multifocal glasses may be stored in the memory 904 forusage in determining whether the user 100 is exhibiting symptoms ofpresbyopia. The camera 914 and/or the processor 902 may utilize facialrecognition capabilities, for example, to recognize that multifocalglasses are not being worn by the user 100. The light sensor 920 and theflash 922 may be utilized by the processor 902 to assist the camera 914in recognizing whether multifocal glasses are being worn by the user 100by sensing a low-light environment and sufficiently illuminating theuser 100.

The user 100 may also input a level of presbyopia into the electronicdevice 102. The level of presbyopia may include information from aneyeglasses prescription or a contact lens prescription. For example, thespecific powers of the different portions of multifocal glasses may beincluded as the level of presbyopia. In some embodiments, the processor902 may access an external database via the transceiver 906, such as toa medical records database or website, to retrieve the level ofpresbyopia.

The accelerometer 916 and/or the camera 914 may be used to determinethat the user 100 is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia by identifying aback and forth movement of the electronic device 102. Often, personswith presbyopia will move the object being viewed, e.g., the electronicdevice 102, at varying distances in an attempt to focus on the object.This back and forth movement may be a symptom of presbyopia of the user100. The frequency and/or magnitude of the back and forth vacillatingmovement may also be taken into account in making the determination. Inone embodiment, the frequency and/or magnitude of the back and forthmovement may need to exceed a predetermined threshold in order todetermine that the user 100 is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a method 1000 for dynamically configuring thedisplay resolution and/or the magnification factor of a display 104 ofan electronic device 102. In general, a computer program product inaccordance with an embodiment includes a computer usable storage medium(e.g., standard random access memory (RAM), an optical disc, a universalserial bus (USB) drive, or the like) having computer-readable programcode embodied therein, wherein the computer-readable program code isadapted to be executed by the processor 902 (e.g., working inconjunction with an operating system) to implement the methods describedbelow. In this regard, the program code may be implemented in anydesired language, and may be implemented as machine code, assembly code,byte code, interpretable source code or the like (e.g., via C, C++,Java, Actionscript, Objective-C, Javascript, CSS, XML, and/or others).

The method 1000 begins with measuring 1002 the distance between the userand the display of the electronic device. The distance may be measuredby a proximity sensor or camera, for example. In some embodiments, thepupil orientation of the user may also be determined 1002 with respectto the display. The camera may determine the pupil orientation of theuser, which can be used to determine the region of the display the useris viewing. If the pupil orientation is determined, then the focus areadistance between the pupil of the user and the display may be calculated1004 based on the distance and the pupil orientation. As describedabove, the focus area distance may be greater than the minimum distancebetween the user and the display, and may result in a different desireddisplay resolution compared to only taking the minimum distance intoaccount.

The desired display resolution may be determined 1006, based on thedistance and/or the focus area distance. As described previously, thedesired display resolution may have an inverse relationship with thedistance and the focus area distance. In other words, as the distancebetween the user and the display increases, the display resolution maybe decreased; and as the distance between the user and the displaydecreases, the display resolution may be increased.

In certain embodiments, for a particular display size of a display 104,it is possible that a certain range of distances between the user andthe display may lead to a particular desired display resolution, andthat another certain range of distances (e.g., farther distances) maylead to a different desired display resolution. FIGS. 12-14 illustrategraphs showing exemplary points of transition to display resolutions fordifferent sizes of a display 104 based on changes in the distancebetween a user and the display 104. In particular, the graph of FIG. 12illustrates the points of transition for a 10 inch display, the graph ofFIG. 13 illustrates the points of transition for a 32 inch display, andthe graph of FIG. 14 illustrates the points of transition for a 46 inchdisplay. In each of the graphs, the display resolutions supported by thetheoretical display are 480p (852×480), PAL or 576i (720×576), 720p(1280×720), 1080p (1920×1080), UHDTV-4K (3840×2160), and UHDTV-8K(7680×4320), and the distance between the user and the display variesfrom one foot (300 mm) to 15 feet (4.572 meters).

As the distance between the user and the display increases, the desireddisplay resolution can switch to a particular resolution when the solidline La in the graphs of FIGS. 12-14 crosses the dotted linecorresponding to the resolution. It should be noted that the displayresolution may only change to a particular desired display resolution ifthe display resolution is supported by the display. For example, in FIG.12 for a 10 inch display, for distances below approximately 189 mm, thedesired display resolution can be UHDTV-8K; for distances betweenapproximately 189 mm and approximately 437 mm, the desired displayresolution can be UHDTV-4K; for distances between approximately 437 mmand approximately 682 mm, the desired display resolution can be 1080p;for distances between approximately 682 mm and approximately 1025 mm,the desired display resolution can be 720p; for distances betweenapproximately 1025 mm and approximately 1213 mm, the desired displayresolution can be 480p; and for distances above approximately 1213 mm,the desired display resolution can be 576i.

In FIG. 13 for a 32 inch display, for distances below approximately 604mm, the desired display resolution can be UHDTV-8K; for distancesbetween approximately 604 mm and 1397 mm, the desired display resolutioncan be UHDTV-4K; for distances between approximately 1397 mm andapproximately 2183 mm, the desired display resolution can be 1080p; fordistances between approximately 2183 mm and approximately 3280 mm, thedesired display resolution can be 720p; for distances betweenapproximately 3280 mm and approximately 3881 mm, the desired displayresolution can be 480p; and for distances above approximately 3881 mm,the desired display resolution can be 576i. In FIG. 14 for a 46 inchdisplay, for distances below approximately 868 mm, the desired displayresolution can be UHDTV-8K; for distances between approximately 868 mmand approximately 2009 mm, the desired display resolution can beUHDTV-4K; for distances between approximately 2009 mm and approximately3138 mm, the desired display resolution can be 1080p; for distancesbetween approximately 3138 mm and approximately 4714 mm, the desireddisplay resolution can be 720p; for distances between approximately 4714mm and approximately 5579 mm, the desired display resolution can be480p; and for distances above approximately 5579 mm, the desired displayresolution can be 576i.

Returning to FIG. 10, whether the user is exhibiting symptoms ofpresbyopia may be determined 1008, and is described in more detail belowwith reference to FIG. 11. If the user is exhibiting 1010 symptoms ofpresbyopia, then the method 1000 may determine 1012 a desiredmagnification factor for images to be shown on the display of theelectronic device, based on the level of presbyopia exhibited by theuser. The display resolution that was previously determined 1006 may beadjusted 1014, based on the magnification factor.

In some embodiments, the magnification factor may be determined based ona calibration of the display to a particular user with presbyopia. Forexample, the user could hold the electronic device at least one distanceD_(i) while the magnification of a calibration image is increased and/ordecreased until the user deems the calibration image satisfactory. Thecalibration image may include an image, text, etc. After the calibrationimage is deemed satisfactory, the ratio β_(i)=P_(i)/D_(i) of thedistance D_(i) between the user and the display and the magnificationP_(i) of the calibration image may be stored. The ratio β_(i) for thisparticular user may be used to determine the magnification factor forthe user when viewing different displays that support a variety ofdisplay resolutions. Accordingly, when the distance between the user andthe display is D₂, the appropriate magnification factor P₂ at thatdistance can be calculated as P₂=D₂*β_(i). The desired displayresolution may also be adjusted 1014 based on the magnification factorβ_(i). In particular, if the ratio β_(i) is less than or equal to thevisual acuity α (described above), then the desired display resolutionmay be based on the ratio β_(i) instead of α. In particular, thesmallest feature resolvable by the user can be calculated asL_(i)=D_(i)*β_(i), and the corresponding desired display resolution canbe calculated as R_(p)=L_(i)/R_(D). In some embodiments, magnificationand changes in the desired display resolution based on the magnificationmay occur when users with presbyopia are reading text, such as news,webpages, and the like. When users with presbyopia are viewing images,such as videos, animation, and the like, there may be changes in thedesired display resolution based on the distance between the display andthe user, and no magnification of the images.

The desired display resolution may be one of the display resolutionsthat is supported by the display. A request indicating the desireddisplay resolution and/or the desired magnification factor may betransmitted 1016 to a server external to the electronic device,following an adjustment 1014 to the display resolution, or if the useris not exhibiting 1010 symptoms of presbyopia. The server may be capableof supplying images, such as pictures or videos, to the electronicdevice. In some embodiments, the request may ask for an increment or adecrement to the current display resolution of the display. Theincrement or the decrement may be based on the desired displayresolution that was determined 1008. As an example, the display maysupport four display resolutions (e.g., 480×320, 720p, 960×640, and1080p), the display is currently displaying a video at a displayresolution of 480×320, and the server can supply video at only threedisplay resolutions (e.g., 480×320, 720p, and 1080p). If the distancebetween the user and the display decreases such that the desired displayresolution should be increased to provide more sharpness and clarity,then the request transmitted 1010 to the server may include a specificrequest to supply the video at a specific higher display resolution(e.g., 720p or 1080p), or may include an increment to the next availablehigher display resolution (in this case, 720p).

After the request is transmitted 1016 from the electronic device, datarepresenting the image may be received 1018 from the server. In oneembodiment, the received image may be at a particular desired displayresolution that was determined 1006, such as if the user is notexhibiting symptoms of presbyopia. In another embodiment, the receivedimage may be at an adjusted display resolution that was determined 1014and/or at a magnification factor that was determined 1012, such as ifthe user is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia. In a further embodiment,the received image may be at a desired display resolution that wasdetermined 1006 or at an adjusted display resolution that was determined1014. In this embodiment, the image may be modified by a processor ofthe electronic device based on the desired magnification factor that wasdetermined 1012, after the image has been received from the server. In afurther embodiment, the received image may be at a different displayresolution based on a request including an increment or decrement to thedisplay resolution, as described above. The image may be rendered anddisplayed 1020 on the display. In some embodiments, the requesteddesired display resolution may not be supported by the server. In thiscase, the server can provide an image at a display resolution supportedby the server that is nearest to but above the requested desired displayresolution.

The method 1000 may determine 1022 whether there has been a change tothe distance between the user and the display or a change in the pupilorientation of the user as previously described. If a change to thedistance or pupil orientation has been detected, then the method 1000may determine 1024 whether the change is greater than a predeterminedthreshold. In the case of a change in pupil orientation, the focus areadistance that is calculated based on the pupil orientation may becompared 1024 to a predetermined threshold. If the change to thedistance or focus area distance is greater than the predeterminedthreshold, then the method 1000 may return to measure 1002 the distancebetween the user and the display or to determine the pupil orientationof the user. However, if the change to the distance or focus areadistance is not greater than the predetermined threshold, then themethod 1000 may continue to receive 1018 and display 1020 the imagereceived from the server. The method 1000 may also continue to receive1018 and display 1020 the image from the server if it is determined 1024that there has been no change in the distance or pupil orientation ofthe user.

In some embodiments, after displaying 1020 the image on the display, themethod 1000 may start 1026 a timer, such as in the processor of theelectronic device. In this case, the measurement of the distance ordetermination of the pupil orientation of the user may be performed on aperiodic basis. Accordingly, the method 1000 may determine 1028 whetherthe timer has exceeded a time threshold. If the timer has exceeded thetime threshold, then the distance between the user and the display maybe measured 1002 and/or the pupil orientation of the user may bedetermined 1002. However, if the timer has not exceeded the timethreshold, then the method 1000 may continue to receive 1018 and display1020 the image from the server.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a method 1008 that corresponds to determining1008 whether the user is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia in the method1000 of FIG. 10. The level of presbyopia of the user may be optionallyreceived 1102. The user may manually input the level of presbyopia, suchas information from an eyeglasses prescription or a contact lensprescription. If the level of presbyopia is determined 1104 to not begreater than the predetermined threshold, then the method 1008 maycontinue and receive 1106 data from a camera of the electronic device.If the level of presbyopia is determined 1104 to be greater than apredetermined threshold, then the method 1008 may continue to determine1105 whether the distance between the user and the electronic device isbelow a minimum distance threshold. If the distance is below the minimumdistance threshold, then the method 1008 may determine 1116 that theuser is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia. In this case, the user maynot outwardly exhibit symptoms of presbyopia but the distance betweenthe user and the electronic device is small enough that it can beassumed that the user has presbyopia and that vision correction, e.g., achange to the display resolution and/or magnification, is warranted.

If the distance is not below the minimum distance threshold, then themethod 1008 may continue and receive 1106 data from a camera of theelectronic device. The data from the camera that is received 1106 mayinclude facial recognition and/or object recognition information. Thedata from the camera may be used to determine 1108 whether the user issquinting. The frequency and/or magnitude of the squinting may also betaken into account in making the determination. If the user isdetermined 1108 to be squinting, then the method 1008 may determine 1116that the user is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia. If the user is notdetermined 1008 to be squinting, then the method 1008 may continue anddetermine 1110 whether the user normally wears multifocal correctivelenses, such as glasses or contact lenses.

Whether the user normally wears multifocal corrective lenses may bestored in a memory of the electronic device. If the user is determined1110 to normally wear multifocal corrective lenses, then it may bedetermined 1120 whether the user is wearing the multifocal correctivelenses. The camera data received 1106 may be utilized to determine 1120whether the user is wearing multifocal corrective lenses. In someembodiments, the user may manually input whether multifocal correctivelenses are being worn when doing the determination 1120. This may be thecase, for example, when the user is wearing multifocal eyeglasses withprogressive lenses, or is wearing multifocal contact lenses. If it isdetermined 1120 that the user is not wearing multifocal correctivelenses and should be, then the method 1008 may determine 1116 that theuser is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia. If it is determined 1120 thatthe user is wearing multifocal corrective lenses (or if it is determined1110 that the user does not normally wear multifocal corrective lenses),then the method 1008 may continue and receive 1112 data from anaccelerometer of the electronic device.

The accelerometer data that is received 1112 may be utilized todetermine 1114 whether there is a back and forth movement of theelectronic device by the user. Camera data that is received 1106 mayalso be utilized to determine 1114 whether there is a back and forthmovement of the electronic device by the user. The frequency and/ormagnitude of the vacillating movement may also be taken into account inmaking the determination. If it is determined 1114 that there is a backand forth movement of the electronic device, then the method 1008 maydetermine 1116 that the user is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia.However, if it determined 1114 that there is not a back and forthmovement of the electronic device, then the method 1008 may determine1118 that the user is not exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia.

Thus, it should be clear from the preceding disclosure that systems andmethods for dynamically configuring a display of an electronic device toa display resolution may be performed without noticeable impact on theuser viewing experience. The systems and methods advantageously reducethe amount of data transferred between an electronic device and a serversupplying an image, and may result in bandwidth, processing, and powersavings.

This disclosure is intended to explain how to fashion and use variousembodiments in accordance with the technology rather than to limit thetrue, intended, and fair scope and spirit thereof. The foregoingdescription is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to theprecise forms disclosed. Modifications or variations are possible inlight of the above teachings. The embodiment(s) were chosen anddescribed to provide the best illustration of the principle of thedescribed technology and its practical application, and to enable one ofordinary skill in the art to utilize the technology in variousembodiments and with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations arewithin the scope of the embodiments as determined by the appendedclaims, as may be amended during the pendency of this application forpatent, and all equivalents thereof, when interpreted in accordance withthe breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitably entitled.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: determining, inresponse to identifying that an electronic device has moved according toa series of movements in a z-axis direction comprising at least oneforwards movement and at least one backwards movement, that a user ofthe electronic device is having difficulty visually focusing on at leastone feature displayed on the electronic device; responsive todetermining that the user is having difficulty visually focusing on theat least one feature, determining a desired increased magnificationfactor for increasing magnification of the at least one featuredisplayed on the electronic device; and outputting, for transmission toa server, a request indicating the desired increased magnificationfactor, wherein the server is capable of supplying at least one of amagnified image and magnified text according to the desired increasedmagnification factor and wherein determining that the user of theelectronic device is having difficulty focusing on the at least onefeature is not dependent on the state of the face of the user when theelectronic device moves according to the series of movements.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the server, theat least one of the image and text according to the desiredmagnification factor; and outputting, for display, the received at leastone of the image and text.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the atleast one feature corresponds to at least one of an image and textdisplayed on the electronic device.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe series of movements corresponds to a pattern of movements indicatingthat the user is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: measuring a distance between the displayand the user; comparing the measured distance to a minimum distancethreshold; and responsive to determining that the measured distance isless than the minimum distance threshold, determining the desiredmagnification factor.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein determiningwhether the user is having difficulty visually focusing on the at leastone feature comprises receiving an indication of a level of presbyopiaof the user, and wherein the desired magnification factor is determinedbased at least in part on the level of presbyopia.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the server, the image aspart of a video at the desired magnification factor; and outputting, fordisplay, the received image when a scene changes in the video.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the server, theimage at a display resolution that is different from a desired displayresolution; modifying the received image based on the desiredmagnification factor to produce a magnified image; and outputting, fordisplay, the magnified image.
 9. An electronic device, comprising: oneor more processors; and a memory coupled to the one or more processorsand storing instructions that, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the electronic device to: determine, in response toidentifying that the electronic device has moved according to a seriesof movements in a z-axis direction comprising at least one forwardsmovement and at least one backwards movement, that a user of theelectronic device is having difficulty visually focusing on at least onefeature displayed on the electronic device; responsive to determiningthat the user is having difficulty visually focusing on the at least onefeature, determine a desired increased magnification factor forincreasing magnification of the at least one feature displayed on theelectronic device, and output, for transmission to a server, a requestindicating the desired increased magnification factor, wherein theserver is capable of supplying at least one of a magnified image andmagnified text according to the desired increased magnification factorand wherein determining that the user of the electronic device is havingdifficulty focusing on the at least one feature is not dependent on thestate of the face of the user when the electronic device moves accordingto the series of movements.
 10. The electronic device of claim 9,wherein the stored instructions, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, further cause the electronic device to: receive, from theserver, the at least one of the image and text according to the desiredmagnification factor; and output, for display, the received at least oneof the image and text.
 11. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein theat least one feature corresponds to at least one of an image and textdisplayed on the electronic device.
 12. The electronic device of claim9, wherein the series of movements corresponds to a pattern of movementsindicating that the user is exhibiting symptoms of presbyopia.
 13. Theelectronic device of claim 9, wherein the electronic device furthercomprises a distance measurement component configured to measure adistance between a display of the electronic device and the user, andwherein the stored instructions, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, further cause the electronic device to: compare the measureddistance to a minimum distance threshold; and responsive to determiningthat the measured distance is less than the minimum distance threshold,determining the desired magnification factor.
 14. The electronic deviceof claim 9, wherein the electronic device further comprises atransceiver configured to receive the image at a display resolution thatis different from a desired display resolution, and wherein the storedinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further causethe electronic device to modify the image based on the desiredmagnification factor to produce a magnified image and output, fordisplay, the magnified image.
 15. The electronic device of claim 9,wherein determining whether the user is having difficulty visuallyfocusing on the at least one feature comprises receiving an indicationof a level of presbyopia of the user, and wherein the desiredmagnification factor is determined based at least in part on the levelof presbyopia.
 16. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the storedinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further causethe electronic device to: receive the image as part of a video at thedesired magnification factor; and output, for display, the receivedimage when a scene changes in the video.